Nosocomial infections and bacterial antibiotic resistance in a university equine hospital.

A base-line study of bacteria isolated from horses admitted to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital during a 6-month period was performed to determine the extent of multiresistant nosocomial infections caused by gram-negative aerobic bacteria other than Salmonella spp. Results of this study indicated that 21.9% of the 105 horses from which cultures and sensitivities were available had developed nosocomial gram-negative aerobic infections, with high rates of resistance to gentamicin, kanamycin, and trimethoprim sulfadiazine, three of the most often prescribed antibiotics in this hospital. In addition, a prospective study of antibiotic-resistant bacteria of fecal origin was performed to determine whether there was a change in the degree of antibiotic resistance of a horse's intestinal flora while the horse was hospitalized. Bacterial culturing for gram-negative lactose fermenting bacteria was done on fecal specimens collected directly from the rectum on day 1 and day 7 of a horse's hospitalization. Susceptibility testing was done on each isolant. Of the 24 paired fecal specimens obtained, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella sp isolated on day 7 were resistant to a significantly higher number of antibiotics than day 1 isolants (P = 0.003, P = 0.043, respectively).